The Only Exception: Loving
by Sidney Ella Ford
Summary: The third installment in The Only Exception series. Embry and Leah move forward in their lives, getting to know each other better and making plans for their future. Read and review!
1. Absence

**So here's the first chapter to Loving! I'm really excited about it, and I might post more later on tonight. I don't own anything recognizable, and please, please, please review!**

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><p>Embry was really getting on my nerves. Along with making the dinner reservation at eleven o'clock at night, he was refusing to tell me what he had planned. He'd already told me to take a nap, then to wear my favorite formal dress. Now he was telling me we had to leave at nine. Mom and Charlie knew what he was doing, but they refused to tell me, as did Jacob, Rosalie, Seth, Quil, Emily, the rest of the Cullens, and the rest of the pack. <em>No one<em> was going to tell me.

"Leah, Embry's here!" Mom called, just as I was touching up my lipstick, the last bit of makeup to be applied.

I put in a pair of silver hoop earrings as a final touch, then slid my shoes on and gave myself a once over. I was wearing a deep purple dress, strapless, that went to the floor, with plain silver flats and silver jewelry. I'd loosely curled my chin length hair and pulled it into a pony tail, accented with a silver beaded clip. After all the effort, Embry better be _damn_ happy.

"Coming," I called, picking up the silver clutch Rosalie swore I'd need one day, after cleaning out her closet for Goodwill and discovering it.

When I got to the living room, Embry's jaw was on the floor. He made a strange sound from the back of his throat, then cleared it. "Um…"

"What?" I mumbled, not really seeing the big deal. As he loved to remind me at choice moments, he'd seen me naked.

"Uh…"

Seth clapped Embry on the back. "Dude, that's my sister. Not a Victoria's Secret model."

I slowly turned red, realizing that it was me he was ogling. "Let's just go, Bry."

Embry snapped back into it suddenly, then smiled. "You look unbelievable."

Mom smiled, standing and clapping her hands together. "Picture time!"

"Mom, it's a date, not prom!" I whined, really not wanting to be photographed.

"Young lady, I will take all the pictures I please. I have no idea how anything times out anymore and I want to document it. Now stand together and smile."

We posed through several dozen pictures, because my hate glares at a snickering Seth and Charlie kept ruining them, then we were let out. I pouted the entire drive. The hour and a half drive. When we finally pulled up at the location, it was a dinky little dive, and I was really getting pissed.

"Trust me," Embry said, seemingly reading my mind. "You'll love it."

He led me into the seemingly closed restaurant, and inside amazed me. Thousands of twinkle lights lit the room, which had one table set up for dinner with candles and sparkling cider. There was a line of five people, the waiting staff, and they made no sounds as they led us to the table and began to bring out the food.

"How do you keep shocking me?" I asked, taking it all in. "And why do I act like a total bitch when everything you do is amazing?"

Embry kissed my hand. "You're cranky when you don't know what's going on. I'm trying to wean you off of that because I love surprising you. Happy anniversary, beautiful."

I was still stunned by the setup. "You'd think this was a three _year_ anniversary, not three _month_."

"Well, I do things big. And don't worry about the cost-"

"How did you know I was thinking that?" I asked incredulously.

"Because I know _you_. Anyway, the cost was no issue. Jake, Quil, and I helped build this place during the summer when we were fourteen. We needed to stay out of trouble, and after we gave the parking lot at school a little paint job, the principal thought it would be good collateral," he said, pausing while I proceeded to laugh my ass off. "Anyway, we did more than our fair share of work. The owners were really nice and they like us, so when I talked to them about renting out the place they gave it to me for the night for next to nothing."

I grinned widely at him, kissing the back of his hand. "However it came about, it's too much. I like camping out with you in our cave. You didn't have to go through so much trouble."

Embry looked me in the eye seriously. "Leah, I love you, and I love spoiling you. You're modest and simple, but I love treating you like a princess. Let me have my fun, please."

I couldn't argue. "Fine. I love you, too. And thank you. This is amazing."

We enjoyed our dinner, a three course meal, and then we toasted to our anniversary with sparkling cider, kissing over the table after sipping the fizzy drink. After we finished the amazing dessert he'd picked out especially, we left and parked on an overlook halfway between there and home, sitting on the hood of his care. We kissed a bit, but ever since our Big Talk, we'd been going even slower than before, which was pretty damn slow. In that particular moment, it was pretty damn annoying as well.

"Did you like the surprise?" Embry asked, rubbing my bare arm.

"I loved it," I said, putting my head on his shoulder.

He pressed his lips into my hair. "I'm glad."

"I wish I'd done something," I said with a sigh.

He nudged my head up, and I looked at him. "Leah, I don't want anything from you. I told you, I love spoiling you. You're my girl."

I kissed his jaw, then lifted a hand to his cheek. "Okay, okay. Kiss?"

"Kiss." He leaned down and touched his lips to mine lightly.

"_Real_ kiss."

"Real kiss?" Oh, lovely, the concept confused him. "What do you mean, real kiss?"

I sighed heavily, then looked up at him. "A kiss you would give your mother or grandmother is not a real kiss. And trust me, my mother gives me that exact same kiss every day. I don't want to associate kissing my mother with our alone time."

Embry laughed loudly. "I just wanted to keep it light so we won't get too carried away."

My turn to laugh. "It's not like I can get pregnant from kissing you, so why are you holding back all of a sudden?"

He stroked my cheek with the tips of his fingers. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to keep it light and sweet."

"Well you can do that without completely turning a girl off!"

"Okay, well real kiss?"

"I don't know. I think I just want to sit here; maybe we should just go home."

"Leah!"

"I just don't think I'm in the mood anymore."

"I think I'm seeing into the future, like reverse déjà vu."

I smacked his arm. "Shut up, Embry."

He looked at me. "Leah?"

I looked back, a small smile playing on my lips. "What?"

He leaned close to me and pressed his forehead to mine. "Can I kiss you?"

"I don't know. Can you?"

"We have all night. I'm not going to beg." With that, Embry looked straight forward.

I looked over at him, unable to restrain my smile. Our banter was fun, and we wouldn't be us without it. It kept things light, like we liked them, and kept us from getting too deeply into things at times that it wasn't necessary. "Bry?"

He stayed silent, so I put my hand over his. He glanced at me a time or two, but tried to maintain his indifferent façade.

"Just kiss me already."

He turned to me, then leaned over and kissed me softly, slowly reaching out to hold my waist. I smiled against his lips, closing my eyes and putting my hands on his shoulders. It was definitely the best three month anniversary. We drove into La Push in the early hours of the morning. It was the darkest time of the day when Embry dropped me off at home.

"Thank you for everything," I said, reaching over to hug him.

"You're welcome," he said, squeezing me tight. "Goodnight, beautiful."

"Goodnight," I said, squeezing back. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

After a final goodnight kiss, I got out of the car and went into my house, where Seth was asleep on the couch, the main menu of a movie on the TV screen. I turned off the television and covered him with a blanket, kissing his forehead.

After changing into my pajamas, I laid in my bed, thinking back on the night. Merely three months ago I was a bitter harpy bitch that was sadistic and manic-depressive. Now, I was the person I was before Sam and the wolf genes ruined my life, and I really liked being that Leah. The best part was that I was finally in love with the right person, and I could really enjoy being in love, because I knew no matter what, Embry would always be there for me. Date nights like tonight were special, because a lot of the time we were in public or with the pack, the Cullens, or our families. I really enjoyed having Embry to myself like that, and our time that we had together was growing shorter and shorter.

Over the next few weeks, we couldn't spend much time together at all. Two of the weekend nurse's aides got mono -one right after the other-, and I got paid time and a half for working their shifts for four weekends, making my only time with Embry at night and during my lunch break. Embry's semester in online college was coming to a close, so he was spending most of the time he wasn't working studying for his end of term exams. The only time we had to talk was during lunch breaks and at our weekly dinners with our families. Even patrols were spent apart, because Jacob's paranoia had lessened and now there was only one person doing a short patrol a day, and those people were the ones who weren't working or going to school. Our patrols were few and far between, and now they were all spent apart. If we weren't working or studying, we were being sucked into 'family time' or pack stuff. It was getting crazy, like someone up there had it in for us.

When we finally got a chance to spend a bit of time together, it was only for a few days. He had to go to Seattle for a few days before the week of Thanksgiving to take his exams, since they had to be in a supervised environment. Because it was so far away, he was going to be staying in a hotel near the campus. It was a very difficult few days.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked for the zillionth time, folding a T-shirt for him to pack in his duffle.

He smiled to himself, taking the shirt from my hands and packing it. "I'll be fine."

"I just don't want you to be alone in the city unless you're sure you'll be okay." I started matching socks absentmindedly,

"Leah," he said, taking my waist and pulling me against him. "I will be fine."

I didn't meet his eyes, feeling embarrassed. "I'll miss you."

Embry kissed my forehead, wrapping me into a hug. "I'll miss you, too, but then we'll have all week next week."

I nodded against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. "I have something for you." I pulled the roll of bills out of my pocket and slid it into his. "It's just a little extra cash for gas or food or something."

"Leah, I don't want your money," he laughed, pulling it back out of his pocket. "Especially not… Two hundred dollars? Leah, are you nuts? I have plenty saved. I'll be fine."

I grumbled, stuffing it back into my own pocket. "You can rent out a restaurant for our three month anniversary but I can't give you some cash for food and gas."

"I have my own money," he laughed, putting a hand on the back of my neck. "I promise I'll be fine. Kiss?"

I pecked his lips lightly, pouting still.

"What's wrong? That was one of those Mommy kisses you forbid me to do."

"I never get to do anything for you."

Embry rolled his eyes, then grabbed my waist again. "Tell you what. When I get home Saturday, I want pizza, and to camp out in the cave."

"Deal," I said, smiling a bit.

"And I want the pizza to be supreme, and I want a whole chocolate cake to myself, and a bed of roses to sleep on, and you aren't allowed to wear more than your bikini." He was joking now, and had begun to tickle me.

"Embry!" I gasped, giggling.

"And you have to say 'Embry is my king' and kiss the ground I walk on," he said, laughing as I fell backwards onto his bed, still giggling from his tickling. "And you need to wear a superhero mask, and a cape, and platform shoes. And you have to dance to disco to entertain me."

I gasped for air, giggling like a maniac while he continued to tickle me. "I get it, I get it!"

He stopped tickling me suddenly, sitting on the bed next to me, staring down at me. "I want _nothing_ from you. All I want is for you to be ready for some serious quality time when I get home. I've missed you, Lee."

I reached up and cupped his cheek. "Get down here, mister."

He smiled and leaned down to my level. "Why?"

"Because I want a proper kiss before my boyfriend leaves me for four days."

He smiled, then kissed me obligingly.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews? **

**~Sidney**


	2. Aches

**Second chapter! I'm so glad ya'll like this! I own nothing recognizable, and please review! **

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><p>"Sissy Leah? Are you okay?" Kelly asked me, walking up to me. Her tiny arm was in a sling, and she was supposed to be playing with the other kids in the playroom.<p>

"I'm fine, Kelly," I said, picking her up when she held her good arm up to me. "Do you want me to read you a story?"

She shook her head, then touched my forehead. "No. I want to know why you look sad."

I flinched when she touched my head, which was throbbing. "I just have a little headache. I'll be okay."

"Why don't you go see Dr. Cullen? He makes my aches go away," she said, nodded insistently.

"No, I know how to make my aches go away. Do you want to play with the other kids or read?"

She thought for a minute, then asked to be let down so she could go play with the other kids. I sat down in the corner and massaged my temples, keeping my eyes on the kids and my mind on the headache I'd had since the night before, when I'd seen Embry off. It was torture, not seeing him. At least when we'd been busy we could still see each other at least once a day. There was not a day that had passed since we imprinted that we hadn't seen each other. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since I'd seen him and I was already going nuts.

After work, I got a ride home from Jacob and sat on the couch, jittery as hell and needing something to do. When Mom got home ten minutes later, I asked to borrow the car, then I went to the Cullens' place. Bella let me in, saying Rosalie was a bit busy at the moment, so she and I talked a bit until Rosalie came down the stairs.

"Hey, Leah," she greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for something to do," I admitted, biting my lip.

"Well I was just about to come and pick you up," she said, reminding me of our plans.

"Damn, I forgot. I've had a lot on my mind today."

"Well let's go and you can tell me what's been on your mind."

We'd planned to go to the caterers to choose what we would supply at the baby shower. We went out to her car and drove a good several miles away from the house before she started her interrogation.

"What's going on?" Rosalie asked, sounding concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Embry's out of town and I think I might be losing my mind," I said, subconsciously reaching up to rub my aching head.

"You sound like Jacob when Nessie went to Alaska for a weekend," she laughed, making it hit me.

"_Damn_, I'm an idiot," I said, mentally kicking myself. "It's the imprint. I forgot how sick it makes you when you're separated from your imprint."

Rosalie laughed harder, shaking her head. "I will never get you wolves and your issues."

I shrugged, supposing she probably wouldn't. "Well, that's being a wolf. I'll never get how you vampires' bodies work. Sleep is a wonderful creation, I think."

"Whatever. Why sleep when you can have more time to-"

"Don't finish that sentence, please," I said, catching the innuendo in her tone. "And for your information being immortal gives you more time for _everything_. I happen to like the idea of sleep at the end of the day. I mean, I have forever. Why not sleep when I want? It's not like I'll run out of time."

"So you and Embry have or haven't…?" she trailed off, glancing at me knowingly.

She must have spent more time with Emmett today than usual. I just refused to imagine what he could have done to put her into this perverted-chatty-mode. "You, dear, have sex on the brain."

She giggled like a real teenager, then sighed. "I guess. But seriously, Leah, have you?"

"No," I said loudly. "Change of subject, _please_."

"Why not?"

"That's not dropping the subject, Rose."

She huffed, then glared at me. "Tell me why not."

I laughed out loud. "You're impossible."

"Tell me!"

"Fine!"

She smiled, the turned back to the road. "Okay, I want details."

I groaned, then looked for the way to say it simplest and get the least amount of questions. "Well, neither of us are ready yet. We're taking our time with some things in our relationship, and he wants to wait until we're married."

"Religious thing? I didn't think you two were religious."

"We're both not-really-practicing Lutherans. Religion is _not_ the reason we're not having sex. Also, I know religious people that didn't even wait until they were engaged. The reason he wants to wait until we're married is because he thinks it's possible that I could have a baby, and he doesn't want to risk having a kid out of wedlock."

"Aw, that's so sweet," she said, getting her 'girly girl' voice. "It would be so amazing if you could have a baby."

"Not you, too." This was getting old.

"You don't want to have a baby?" Rosalie actually sounded let down.

I sighed. "You know I do, but I've accepted that I can't. He's so confident and optimistic about it that I don't want to hurt his feelings by shooting it down, but I don't want to get my hopes up. And anyway, if I _were_ to have a baby, me and you probably wouldn't be friends."

She looked at me, an incredulous look on her face. "You think I wouldn't want to be your friend if it turns out you're not infertile? Do you really think I'm that vain and petty?"

"It's the reason we became friends in the first place," I shot back. "Excuse me for thinking you'd be disgusted at me."

"Disgusted, no," she reassured, losing the anger in her voice. "Jealous, yes. You'd let me hang around, wouldn't you? If you were to have a baby?"

"Yes, Rosalie, I'd let you hang around. I wouldn't have a baby and not let my best friend see it." I laughed at her ridiculousness.

She smiled an odd, half smile. "Best friend?

"Well, yeah, tied with Emily, but you get it."

"Funny. I'm best friends with my natural enemy."

The hilarity of the situation hit us both at the same time, and we laughed for a long time. In fact, we laughed until we pulled up at the caterers. We went inside to the counter, where we were greeted by the owners.

"We're here for the Young-Uley baby shower," I said, when they asked how they could help us.

"Ah, yes, I have the samples you wanted here." The woman pulled out a large box of things and we sat at a table, going through them. I thought about what Emily might like, then made the decisions accordingly. "Would you like chocolate or vanilla for the cupcakes?"

"Definitely chocolate," I said, and the woman made notes. "Emily's main craving has been chocolate, and most of the attendees love chocolate."

After finishing making plans, we went back to the Cullens' place. Esme had made dinner for Nessie and Jacob, and had made enough for an army, so she offered me a plate as well. I stayed to eat with Jacob and Nessie, and before I left, Jacob pulled me aside.

"You okay, Lee?" he asked quietly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not really wanted to deal with him in my current state of insanity from Embry withdrawals.

"I mean, Embry's gone until Saturday night," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It sucks when your imprint is so far away from you."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Yeah."

He gave me a sympathetic look. "So are you okay?"

"I've just had a headache since he left," I said with a shrug. "No big deal. Apparently it's just in my head."

"Okay, well, call me if you need anything," Jacob said, holding his arms out for a hug.

I gave him a hug and kissed his cheek lightly, in a sisterly gesture. "Thanks, Jake."

I drove home and turned in early, my headache having worsened. The next day was even worse, and the pain had spread from my head down my shoulders and back. I also had a dull ache starting in my chest. I just wasn't myself and the kids noticed it. I called Jacob and asked him if the physical pain was normal, and he said yes. No reassurance, no hopes that it would go away. The pain was going to be there until Embry came home. After the failed phone call with him, I went to bed after taking a pain pill. I slept fitfully, and the next day, Jayne tried to send me home because of how haggard and exhausted I looked.

"Honey, you need some sleep," she said, crossing her arms. "Take a sick day."

"No," I insisted. "I'm fine. I won't get any sleep and I'd much rather work than sit at home with nothing to do."

"Well maybe you could go home at lunch," she said, looking as if she didn't believe me.

"I'll be fine, Jayne," I said, picking up my uniform. "I promise."

I wasn't, though. I was good at hiding it, but I was aching all over. I almost considered leaving, but I didn't want to. I was being extremely stubborn, and I hated to admit that the reason I was in so much pain was because I missed my boyfriend. If there's one thing Leah Clearwater hates, it's admitting she's upset over a boy.

I'd borrowed Mom's car to go to work, and I drove straight home. Mom offered me food when I got home, but the idea of it made me nauseous. Instead, I showered and went to bed really early, dreading the idea of another whole day without him. He wouldn't be able to get in until late the next evening, and he would be exhausted and go straight home, so I couldn't see him until Sunday. I didn't want to risk using the mind connection and distracting him from something important, but missing him was wearing down on my heart and mind, and I thought I was going to go insane.

At one point, the pain, the exhaustion, and the missing Embry all teamed up on me and I ended up crying myself to sleep. I was simply overwhelmed, and even though I knew he'd be home soon, I felt helpless. No words can describe it, but imagine having your heart ripped out and mutilated, then sewn back together and put back in. Now imagine that happening over and over again. That's only a fraction of what I felt.

I woke up in the middle of the night to footsteps, then a foreign weight on by bed. A voice broke through the darkness and softly whispered, "Leah."

I opened my eyes and looked up at the figure, then sat up and threw my arms around the person suddenly sitting on my bed. "Embry!"

His arms wound around me, holding me close and not letting me escape. "I missed you so much, Leah…"

"We're _never_ going that long apart _ever_ again," I said to his chest, trying not to let any of the overwhelmed tears escape. That would literally put a damper on our reunion.

"Never," Embry agreed, kissing my head.

I lifted my head from his chest and put a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him to me for a kiss. And this was none of those sweet and gentle kisses, nor were they the Mommy kisses I'd forbidden him to give. We kissed intensely, holding one another closer still and eventually falling back onto my bed. It had been too long, and I didn't mean just when he was in Seattle. We'd barely had time together for over a month, and this was long overdue. After we'd successfully bruised our lips, we pulled back only enough to talk.

"You're home early," I said, noticing it for the first time.

"I missed you too much," he said, shifting closer to me over the covers.

"Get under," I said, trying to pull up the covers. "How are you home early?"

He stood up and kicked off his shoes, then slid under the covers to lay next to me. "My last test was rescheduled to earlier this afternoon, so as soon as I finished I checked out, got in the car, and drove straight to La Push. Charlie was up and he let me in."

I could barely contain my grin. "The last few days have been torture."

"I know," he groaned, kissing me spontaneously. "It was painful. Let's never try that again."

"Deal. Next time you have exams, I'll come with you. We'll make it a vacation."

He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He kissed me again, his lips moving against mine relentlessly. We kissed for a long time, until Embry yawned against my neck while kissing trails up and down my jaw and collarbone (strange but true facts: that was the furthest we'd ever gone, and I've spent far too much time with perverted-Rose).

"Go to sleep," I laughed, stroking his cheek.

He yawned again, then pouted. "But I've missed you."

"I'll be here in the morning," I said, kissing his jutted out lip. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he said, cuddling close to me before falling deeply asleep.

I smiled at him lovingly, then closed my eyes, falling asleep as well.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews, please! **

**~Sidney **


	3. Homecoming

**Third chapter! I'm trying to spoil you guys because I might not be able to post anything for a week after tomorrow, because I'm going on vacation and I have no idea about the internet situation at the place we're staying. I don't own anything recognizable, and please review! **

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><p>The next morning, I woke up wrapped in Embry's arms. I carefully got up, slipping my pillow into his arms when he searched for me in his sleep. I tiptoed out, closing my door, and walked to the kitchen. Mom and Charlie were at the breakfast table, talking quietly.<p>

"Good morning, sweetheart," Mom said as I walked to the stove for food. "Did you and Embry sleep well?"

I blushed deeply red, and I kept my back to her, remaining silent.

"I don't know how she could. About half an hour after I let him in at midnight I heard his chainsaw snores," Charlie said, making Mom giggle.

"I slept fine," I said, keeping my back to them. "Embry's still asleep. He drove half the night."

"And came straight here?" Mom asked, a smile in her voice.

I turned around and glared at her. "Yes, he came straight here, because apparently when you're too far away from your imprint for too long it's absolute _hell_ and your entire body is in screaming aching pain, but no one ever bothered to tell us."

Mom continued to smile. "I wasn't throwing accusations. I just wondered if Cassie knew her son was back."

"Well it seemed like it," I said, huffing and turning back to get food.

"Do you need a hug?"

The hysteria I'd been on the verge of over the last few days finally made a full appearance, and I fell to the ground laughing hysterically with Mom. Whenever we needed to lighten up a moment, we'd ask the other if they needed a hug, and we always ended up laughing. There wasn't a real reason except that it was funny, and it was a tradition.

"What's so funny?" Charlie asked, oblivious.

"Nothing," Mom said, attempting to catch her breath. "It's too hard to explain."

Seth chose that particular moment to make an entrance. "Who needed a hug? Wait, you're up, Lee? Your door was closed."

"Your sister needed the hug," Mom said, choking back another laugh. "Breakfast is on the stove."

"Why's your door closed, Leah?" Seth asked, grabbing a plate from the dish drain and coming up beside me.

I continued to ignore him, going to sit down at the table.

He sat next to me, continued to interrogate me. It drove me crazy when he always wanted to know every little thing that was going on, his business or not. "Why?"

I took a bite of bacon, then stared at him.

It hit him. "No. No, no, no, no, _no_! Seriously? It's bad enough that you sleep together when I'm _not _here, but now he's coming over in the middle of the night when I'm sleeping next door? That's-"

"We don't 'sleep together', we just _sleep_," I said, rolling my eyes at him.

"It's still gross."

"Deal with it. Jake did. You used to copy his every move when you were little, why stop now?"

Seth huffed and glared into his plate of food, eating with exaggerated sound and movement. He also muttered under his breath the entire time.

I finally had enough of it, and turned to him. "You know, Sethy, talking back to the voices says a lot about your sanity and the nonexistence of it. If you have something to say to me, say it out loud."

He glared at me, then rolled his eyes and went back to angry-eating.

"Leah, don't torment your brother," Mom chastised, reaching over to smooth his hair. "He's just overprotective."

"Over-disgusted…" Seth supplied, keeping his angry face on.

"I think I need to go on in," Charlie said, obviously uncomfortable with the conversation. He leaned over to kiss my mother goodbye, then stood and left.

I finished eating quickly. "I'm going to go check on _Embry_, who's in my _room_, in my _bed_."

"Leah," Mom chided.

I bit back a smile and went back to my room. Embry was still dead to the world, so I got some clothes out of my dresser and went to take a shower. Not wanting to wake Embry up, but not wanting to sit in there bored while he was sleeping, I took my time. After washing, shaving, drying, moisturizing, and brushing all the parts necessary, I put on some jeans and a red v-neck sweater and walked out of the bathroom and went back to my room. Embry was still dead asleep. I counted the amount of time he'd been sleeping in my head, and decided ten hours was long enough. But to wake him…

"Embry," I whispered softly, pulling the pillow out of his arms. "Wake up, babe."

He stirred in his sleep.

"Wake up," I sang, leaning down to him.

He turned his head towards me, mumbling something unintelligible.

Third time's the charm. I leaned down and kissed his lips softly.

"Lee…?" That did the trick.

"Good morning, sleepy head," I said, smiling down at his barely awake face.

Embry moaned, arching his back to stretch, then collapsed back down, staring sleepily up at me. "Morning."

I brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Sleep well?"

"Too well. I barely slept in Seattle. Then I had this weird dream a gorgeous girl trying to wake me up from the dream I was having about said gorgeous girl," he said, taking the hand I had resting on his face and kissing my palm.

"Seems like an endless loop of dreams," I said, tracing his lips with my fingers.

He smiled a little, kissing the tips of my fingers. "Someone can't keep her hands off of me this morning."

"Someone's in an affectionate mood this morning."

"That counts for both of us."

I took his face in my hands and leaned down for a proper kiss, moving my lips over his gently, dominating the kiss.

"Good morning to you, too," he said, dazed and surprised.

I grinned, glad I surprised him. He could spoil me all he wanted, but in the end, I was in control. "Do you want to go to your house to see your mom?"

"I called her yesterday on my way home," he said, yawning and stretching out more. "I stopped off at home for a few minutes to drop of my bags and to talk to her for a bit, but she noticed that I was jittery and nervous. She said 'baby boy, I'm so glad you're with that sweet girl, but I think you have a problem. Just go to her already, but bring her over for dinner tomorrow'." He had a falsetto tone that made me giggle. "I ran the whole way here on foot."

"At which point you ran into my step dad?"

Embry grinned. "Charlie's pretty damn cool. He seems to be one of the only people that are convinced we have a totally innocent relationship. He took a look at me, chuckled, then told me you were asleep in your room."

I smiled, leaning down to kiss him again. "Sorry I didn't have that pizza."

"It's okay. You can make it up to me later. I don't plan on being too far from you at any moment over the next week," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "It's been too damn long. I missed you, Leah."

"I missed you, too, Embry."

After a little while, Embry got up, finally, and I realized he was completely dressed in heavy jeans and a faded black t-shirt. He'd kicked his shoes off in my floor and left his jacket hanging over the back of my desk chair.

"You can use my shower," I said, wrinkling my nose at him. "No, you _have_ to use my shower. I have some clothes of yours here from when we had patrols together."

He stuck his tongue out at me, but obeyed after I handed him some fresh clothes. When he was done, we went to leave.

"Where are you headed to?" Mom asked, looking up from her monumental list of Thanksgiving necessities.

"Out," I said, walking over to her.

"Are you going to be back tonight?"

"Not likely," I said, hovering over her shoulder. "If that's okay?"

She smiled and turned her head to me. "That's perfectly fine. I'm power shopping, and then I'm scrubbing every inch of this house clean. It's better that you're out of my way."

I laughed, then kissed her goodbye. "Love you."

"Love you, too." She went back to work.

I darted out of the room, grabbing Embry's hand and dragging him with me. We walked hand in hand down the street, around the neighborhood, then to the beach. We ended up on one of the hiking trails, the one that led to the top of our cliff, and we sat down, dangling our legs off the edge. Our hands didn't separate the entire hike.

"When will you know how you did on your exams?" I asked him, nudging his shoulder, then putting my head on it.

"It was a scanned test. I was able to get my scores immediately," he said nonchalantly.

"How did you do?"

"Fine, I guess. I wasn't really concerned about the scores. I just wanted to get home."

I looked over at him. "I asked how you did, not if you cared."

He looked over at me and smiled. "I have a three point eight GPA."

"That's amazing, Embry!" I said, trying not to sound too shocked. He was intelligent, yes, but he didn't like doing schoolwork. "I'm so proud of you."

"It's no big deal," he said, smiling still. "But does that earn me anything special?"

I made a thoughtful face, then smirked at him. I pushed him down by his shoulders until he was laying flat on his back, then laid down so every inch of my body was lined up with his. I propped up on his chest, looking down at him. "Well, you get to be in the _amazing_ company of your girlfriend, that missed you _terribly_, all day. You also will be treated to lunch by said girlfriend, and then the afternoon activity of your choice." I sounded like a game show host.

He got a thoughtful look on his face, playing along. "And what are my options for said afternoon activity?"

"You, sir, have a choice between kissing, cuddling, debating the relevance of education, or a combination of A and B."

"I think I'll pick D. Can we get a head start?"

I gave a large, exaggerated sigh. "I suppose."

"Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"You're crazy. But I love you."

"I love hearing that," I whispered, then I lowered my lips to his.

Our kiss didn't last too long, because Embry decided to confuse 'cuddling' with 'tickling'.

"Embry!" I shrieked, wriggling around as his fingers danced up and down my sides.

He growled playfully, flipping me over and leaning over me, tickling my sides and tummy and kissing my neck. "My, my, what a wiggle worm. Why do my snacks always try to get away from me?" He leaned down and nipped my neck, making me scream.

"Stop it, please!" I shrieked, giggling and squirming, attempting to escape his attack.

"Leah, Leah, Leah, when will you learn?" he said, his fingers creeping under my back so I arched up. "Begging is for dogs."

"It's a good thing I'm a bitch- Bry!" I screamed as his fingers found my spine, my ultimate ticklish spot. I couldn't stop laughing and screaming, and if he didn't stop soon, we'd draw attention up from the beach.

Embry cackled, continuing to tickle me.

"Get a room, freaks!" a voice called up from the beach below. Embry stopped long enough for us to peek over the edge. Paul stood far below, an arm around Rachel Black and a smirk on his lips. "You two seriously need to learn to be quiet. You're not the only couple on this beach."

"Screw off," I called down to him, sending him love from my middle finger. "Hey, Rachel."

She gave a little wave, then burst into giggles, pulling Paul along on their walk.

Later that day, we got Embry's car and went to our favorite little diner. I went to the ladies' room to wash my hands, and when I came out, I had a nasty surprise. At our table, Embry was looking helplessly around while the horrible waitress that always flirted with him was leaning over the table, nearly spilling out of her too-tight low-cut top.

"Where's that girl you're always with? I hope you dumped her. You can do so much better than that," she was saying, putting her hand over his.

"Um, she's-"

"She was just holding you back," the girl said, nodding matter-of-factly. "I've seen the way you look at me. Of course you wouldn't want to hurt her feelings by flirting back, but she's so mean to you. She tells you what to do and is rude to me, but you're so sweet that you did what she said anyway. She's just so insecure that she thinks she has to be aggressive to get attention."

"Actually, she's-"

"My name is Lauren, by the way. Lauren Mallory. And yours?"

"Embry," I answered for him, coming up behind her. "His name is Embry, and my name is Leah, and if you don't back the hell off my boyfriend immediately, you'll find out how aggressive I really am."

The girl turned around, looking terrified and shocked. "I…I'm…"

"An idiot? A slut? A bitch? Take your pick. I don't care. Just leave me and my boyfriend alone and you can call yourself Mary Poppins for all I care," I said, glaring at her. "Oh, and please get us another waitress. We rather enjoy this establishment. It's you we can't stand."

"But-"

Embry stood up and tapped on her shoulder. "Don't talk about my girl that way ever again. You're the insecure one if you have to stoop so low to get attention."

She huffed in anger, then turned and stormed off.

Suddenly, the manager appeared. "Is there a problem?"

"No, sir," Embry said sincerely. "Our waitress was being rude and inappropriate, and we didn't appreciate it."

"Was it Lauren?"

"Yes, I believe that's what she said her name was."

"I'll send our other waitress over in a few. This isn't the first time Mallory's done this, but it'll be the last," he said, looking irritated. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

_We just got her fired…_ I thought to Embry.

_Thank God. _

It was really hard not to laugh. It was definitely a great day.

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><p><strong>AN: I had to put that last part in there. It was too hard to resist, and I really hate that character, so torturing her was too much fun. Reviews? **

**~Sidney**


	4. Thanksgiving: Part One

**This is the first half of the last bit you'll get for a week or more. I'll post the second half by midnight, but in case anyone actually reads it, I want to bug you for a little while. I don't own anything recognizable, and please review! **

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><p>"Leah, dear, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Cassie asked over dinner.<p>

"My mother always has a huge dinner. Everyone on the rez always drops by at one point or another. She spends all day Wednesday cooking and prepping. Seth and I are always kicked out at that point. When we were little we'd camp out in our yard with Dad, but the last few years we've just crashed at someone's house, usually the Blacks. Mom's pretty obsessive-compulsive with her cooking," I said. Understatement of the year.

"That sounds like fun," Cassie said, smiling. "Embry and I usually go up to my parent's house on the Makah reservation for a few days and we'll stay for Thanksgiving lunch, then we come home with all of the leftovers my mother sends and we're set for a week."

Embry rolled his eyes. "It's not _that_ bad."

"Before you turned into a creature of the night?"

"Child of the moon," he corrected, taking a bite. "And technically, I'm a shape shifter."

"Whatever it's called, before it happened we could live off of holiday leftovers for a week."

I stifled a laugh. I loved watching Embry and Cassie, and I regretted ever calling her a whore without even knowing her. "Well if you two make it back by nighttime, drop by for dinner. Mom would like it. It's usually packed, but she likes it that way. If there's a seat open she get's twitchy."

Embry laughed, nodding. "Sounds like Sue."

Cassie giggled, then her eyes widened and she smiled broadly. "I have an idea. You said your mother kicks you out the day before, right?"

"Yeah," I said, not really sure where this was going.

"Well I've been telling my parents about you, and they've been asking when they get to meet you," she said, eyeing Embry. "And yesterday I was on the phone with my mom and she asked me to invite you up with us. I told her I'd ask, but that I wasn't sure your mother would want you to. Would you like to come?"

I blushed deeply red. "I-I don't know."

Embry looked over at me. "Why not? We could go up Tuesday and I could show you the area and introduce you to my grandparents."

"I've been there a few times, with Emily when we were little."

"Why not come with me, then? I used to spend weekends up there just wondering around and hanging out with Mimi and Gramps."

I didn't know what to say. While they were being insistent, and it did sound fun, it was nerve wracking. What would they think of me? Would they ask questions about us? And don't even get my started on sleeping arrangements. It felt far too grown up, meeting the extended family. "I don't…" Cassie caught my eye and smiled encouragingly, nodding slightly. Embry continued to look at me hopefully. "I'll think about it."

Embry smiled widely and leaned over to kiss my cheek. "You'll love it."

We finished dinner, and Embry volunteered to clean up after. Cassie caught me when I got up to help him, and pulled me aside. "I would really appreciate if you came."

I felt put on the spot again. "I'm just…nervous I guess."

"Well, don't be. My parents are very modern and very liberal. I know you and Embry sleep tog-"

"We just sleep," I said, irritated that I had to explain this _again_. "We're not…physical."

"I know that. It's not my business, but Embry told me. Even if you were, my parents wouldn't have an issue with that. They'll like you, I'm sure."

My heart was beating erratically and I couldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know, Cassie."

She leaned in close to me and whispered softly in my ear. "It would mean so much to Embry. And me, too."

I squeezed my eyes shut, and -knowing I'd regret it- said, "Okay. I'll talk to my mother. If she's okay with it, I'll come."

Her smile was huge. "Are you staying over tonight?"

"If it's not a problem," I said in a small voice, suddenly feeling like a criminal on trial.

"No, no, dear. That's just fine. I just wanted to know," she said reassuringly. "I'd rather know what was going on than have it all happening under my nose. It took Embry far too long to figure that out."

I nodded, offering her a half smile. I went back to the kitchen to see if Embry needed help.

"So you're going?" he asked, holding back a smile as he turned from the sink to face me.

"Yeah. If Mom agrees."

I was lifted off of my feet in a bear hug. "Thank you. You'll love it."

I hugged him back, feeling uneasy.

The next day I asked Mom about it. We were in the kitchen, working on dinner, when I asked.

"Mom?" I said, rinsing off the greens for the salad she'd assigned me to make.

"Yes?" She was busy, elbow deep in hamburger meat for a meatloaf.

I took a deep breath, then came out and said it. "Embry's grandparents invited me to come up to their house on the Makah reservation for Thanksgiving."

She turned around slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. She went to wash her hands, then sat down at the table, motioning for me to sit down next to her. "Leah, this is serious."

"I know," I said, looking at the table.

"Do you want to go?"

"I don't know."

Mom nodded slowly, then covered her hands with mine. "If you want to, you should go."

"We'd make it back in time for dinner with you, and I asked them to stop by," I said, veering off topic in hopes of her dropping it.

"Sweetheart, you're nineteen. I can't stop you from doing what you want, especially with something like this."

"It would be easier if you could."

Mom chuckled, patting my hand. "Well, you don't have to if you don't want to."

I sighed, looking up at her. "But I do. I'm just scared."

"Of what?"

"Of his family not liking me, or thinking I'm a slut or something."

"Don't say slut, Leah, and don't think like that. If they invited you, they want you to be there."

I shrugged, looking back down. "So? I'm sick of having to explain to people that while we sleep in the same bed sometimes, Embry and I haven't had sex; then we have to go about explaining that he wants to wait until we're married, then we have to explain _why_ he wants to wait. And worse, we're going to have to make something up to explain to his grandparents. It's going to be a nightmare."

Mom reached out and touched my face. "Leah, it's going to happen at one point or another. Why not Thanksgiving? If you want to go, go."

I nodded, knowing she was right. "Okay. I'm going to go."

"When will you leave?"

"Tuesday morning. We'll make it back by seven-ish Thursday."

"Okay," she said, stroking my hair back form my face. "Let's finish with dinner."

Embry and I had a silent agreement to lay off the sleepovers until we left. Tuesday morning, around seven, Embry came to pick me up. I packed clothes and hygienic items in an old duffle, which Embry took and carried for me. I kissed and hugged my mother and Seth goodbye and then went out to his car. We were picking his mother up from her very early shift, and she slept in the backseat the entire quiet drive. Finally, we pulled up outside of a nice two story house.

Not one second after we'd pulled in, a tiny woman came rushing out of the front door. "Embry!"

A tall, skinny man came after her, walking as opposed to her trot. "Daniella, calm down."

Embry got out of the car and went to embrace the woman, then the man. "Hey, Mimi. Hey, Gramps."

Cassie, who'd been trying to wake up for a few minutes, sat up and opened the door, slowly getting out and standing up. "Hi, Mom; hi, Daddy." Her voice was full of sleep.

"Oh, Cassidy!" her mother said, running to hug her as well. Again, the man was more paced in his movements.

While Cassie and her parents were getting reacquainted, Embry came around to open my car door for me. He took my hand and helped me out, then gently tugged me along to where his family was chatting. "Mimi, Gramps, this is my beautiful girlfriend, Leah."

His grandmother smiled broadly, then pulled me into a hug. "It's so nice to meet you! Fair warning, we're huggers in this family, so if you're shy you'll have to get over that."

She passed me along to his grandfather, he gave a light hug before letting Embry have me back. "Embry, you didn't tell us she was so lovely."

"Sorry, Gramps," Embry said with a chuckle.

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to _her_."

"I'm sorry, Lee."

I blushed. _Really? Your family might be worse than mine_.

_I knew they'd love you. Just play along and you'll be fine_.

"Embry, why don't you get our bags while we show Leah in?" Cassie said, looping her arm through mine.

"Got it, Ma," he said, then turned to go to the trunk.

I started to protest, but before I could make a sound, Cassie interrupted me.

"No, no, Leah, dear," she said, giving me a significant look. "This is why we keep big strong men around. Why do heavy lifting when you have someone else to?"

_No super strength for Leah._ Embry was laughing in his mind.

I nodded, blushing again. Cassie and her parents took me along to the door and into the entry way, where her parents stopped.

"Is she mute, dear?" Mrs. Call asked, looking at Cassie with a puzzled expression. "Because I haven't heard her say a word. Ezekiel, have you heard her talk?"

"No, I don't believe I have," Mr. Call said. "Cassie, can she talk?"

Cassie giggled, nudging me. "Leah, are you okay? You look a little green."

I bit my lip, then nodded. "I'm fine. I'm sorry."

"Well, it's a good thing you have a voice! We discriminate against mutes in this home." Mrs. Call smiled, satisfied.

"Yes, in this home, we encourage _noise_!" Mr. Call said, singing 'noise' will a bellowing bass. "Tell us, what do you do for a living? Are you a mime?"

"I'm a nurse's assistant," I managed, looking around so I wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. "I work in the children's ward of the town hospital."

"Ah, that's an admirable profession. Embry, put those in your mothers old bedroom and your room," Mr. Call said, just as Embry came to the door.

Embry nodded, carrying his, Cassie's, and my duffle as he went to the staircase. "Got it, Gramps."

Mrs. Call looked to me. "Assuming the girl wants to share a room with him. Leah, dear, would you like your own room, or would you prefer to bunk with Embry?"

Cassie made a face at her mother. "Mother, that's a sensitive topic. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Her parents laughed. They _laughed_.

"Yeah, we'll sleep in the same room," Embry said, rolling his eyes.

"I asked Leah, not you," Mrs. Call chided.

"We'll sleep in the same room," I said in a small voice.

Embry smiled, then stuck his tongue out at his grandparents. He went up the stairs, then his grandmother made the suggestion of giving me the grand tour. After I'd successfully been shown every square inch of the house (and ordered to call Mr. and Mrs. Call Zeke and Daniella), we all sat down in the Calls' living room for 'family time' (aka, interrogation).

"Well, how did you two meet?" Zeke asked, looking to Embry and I.

"Leah's mom is kind of the tribe mother, and she always has her home open to the reservation," Embry said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"So you met through Leah's mother?"

"Well, through our circle of friends. We call ourselves 'the pack'. We shared a few mutual friends, and most everyone was finding girlfriends or pairing off, so we got thrown together a lot, especially when my two best friends found girls. Eventually we just clicked and that was that."

Daniella made a face. "That's horrendously unromantic!"

I actually laughed at that. "Well it didn't happen quite like that. We hated each other to begin with. We were really awful to each other, then the dad of a mutual friend pretty much treated us like four year olds and said 'make nice or else'. After we actually got to know each other was when we clicked."

"And boy was the pack shocked. We're the only couple actually _in_ the circle," Embry said, laughing. "I think they're still waiting for one of us to say 'psych'."

His grandparents laughed, then continued with their questions.

"Tell us about your family, Leah," Daniella said, looking expectantly at me.

"Well, Embry told you about my mother, Sue. My brother Seth is a few years younger than me. My dad, Harry, died a few years ago, and Mom remarried one of his best friends. Charlie is my stepfather, and he's nice, but he's shy. Bella is his daughter -my stepsister- and she's just like him. She's married to my brother-in-law Edward, and they have a daughter named Renesmee that everyone calls Nessie because we think Bella's insane for naming the kid Renesmee, even Edward." I spoke fast, then realized I wasn't breathing.

"That's quite a family," she replied, smiling. "Do you get along with your stepfamily?"

"Charlie and I get along fairly well. He was there the whole time I was growing up, so it wasn't a huge adjustment. Seth gets along with Bella and Edward better," I said, making a bit of a face. "Bella and I didn't really get along growing up, and she kind of jerked my good friend around, but they reconciled after her daughter was born. We get along more nowadays, and I love my niece."

Daniella nodded, then turned to Embry. "So how long have you been together?"

Embry smiled, giving me a little squeeze. "Nearly five months."

"This day in age that's like five years," Zeke said. Nice to know what the older generations think about us…

After a while longer of talking, Embry suggested we go on a run, so he could show me around the reservation. I agreed, and we changed into phasing clothes, then set out.

_Remember, Lee, no showing off your speed. _Embry reminded me as we started jogging down the sidewalk.

_You're just jealous because I'm faster than you_. I thought back, rolling my eyes.

The run, however, didn't go well.

"Embry Call!" someone yelled, startling us as we turned a corner. A brown haired girl ran up, grinning widely.

Embry did a double take, then stopped short, making me nearly run into him. "Karma?"

The girl opened her arms up. "No hug?"

He looked hesitant, then hugged her briefly before jerking back quickly. "Uh, hi."

"Long time no see," she said, giving him a significant look. "You never called me back."

"I was busy. I lost your number." Embry was nervous, spitting out every excuse in the book.

"Well if I give it to you, will you call me?" she demanded, a playful smile on her lips.

He looked around wildly, then spotted me, standing awkwardly in the background, then found his way out of the spot. "Karma, this is Leah. Leah, Karma."

Karma reached out for a hand shake. "Nice to meet you. I didn't know Embry had a sister."

That made me say something. "I'm _not_ his sister."

"Oh, so a friend from college?" She was looking for a connection. _Anything_ but the truth.

"Try girlfriend," I said, scowling and rocking back on my heel.

"One of many, apparently. Embry, you dog." She kept her poker face, and I wanted to rip said face off of her stupid head.

Embry looked between us. "We weren't exactly serious, Karma. You know that."

She crossed her arms and smirked at him. "But you still said you'd call, especially after that night back in July."

"July?" I demanded, finding myself angry.

"It was _June_," Embry corrected, looking angry himself.

"Po-_tay_-to, po-_tah_-to," Karma said passively. "Either way, I was surprised that you didn't call. You seemed so sweet."

He looked at her, then at me, then dropped his face into his hands. "Karma, you knew how I felt."

She stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. "But you still did what you did. And then I called you in August and you swore you'd call back."

"August," I repeated, _furious_. "She called you in _August_."

"I didn't _say_ that," Embry said, gripping his head. "Look, Karma, Leah and I are serious. I'm not up for any of your games."

"That doesn't mean you can't at least call me," she said, batting her eyelashes innocently. "We can still be friends."

"Yeah, Embry, you can be friends," I snapped sarcastically. "Catch up with your _friend_. I'm going to see if Cassie needs any help." I turned and stalked off, fighting my furious tears.

"Lee, wait!" Embry called after me. "Karma, let go of me!"

I was already gone.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews, please! **

**~Sidney**


	5. Thanksgiving: Part Two

**Last chapter for a week or so. I'm tired, and I'm glad I didn't fall asleep before putting this up. I don't own anything recognizable, and please review! **

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><p>The rest of the afternoon was tense. Tenser than tense. I didn't say a word to Embry, still too furious to even look at him, and everyone could tell. Dinner was fairly quiet, and I sat silently beside Embry, ignoring all of his kicks and thoughts. I accepted the offer to use the Calls' shower, then turned in early. I heard his family talking while he was in the shower and I was getting ready for bed.<p>

"Leah must have met Karma," Daniella said, sounding irritated. "That girl is nothing but trouble."

"Not her," Cassie groaned, obviously just as irritated. "She calls occasionally and leaves messages for Embry to swear to call her back."

Even Zeke had something to say. "That child is impossible. Every time Embry's up she follows him like a lost puppy. It's sad."

I huffed in anger, hating the girl even worse. I got into the bed Embry and I would be sharing, cursing the fact that it was only a full, so there would be no way to keep my distance from Embry. I laid on my side and faced the wall, not wanting to see him when he came to bed. Laying there, trying my hardest to ignore him, was when I started crying the tears that had been threatening to make an appearance since the meeting with the wretched bitch. When Embry got out of the shower, his grandfather stopped him in the hallway.

"Son," Zeke said, clapping his shoulder. "Something I've learned with your grandmother is to never go to bed angry. Talk to her. Solve this whole problem tonight so you can wake up and start fresh."

"I'll try," Embry said, sounding defeated. "She's stubborn. Sometimes she just needs to be angry to feel better."

"Your grandmother is like that. She likes to stew, but all she really wants is to know she's right or that I'm sorry."

"Leah's too determined sometimes," Embry sighed.

"Well, goodnight, and good luck," Zeke said. "Love you, kid."

"Love you, Gramps."

After their goodnights, Embry came into the room and closed the door. I hear the fabric of his shirt scraping against his skin as he removed it, then he came to the bed in the dark. He pulled up the covers and slid in, scooting right up to me so his bare chest was against my back, putting an arm over my waist. I stifled a sob, imagining him doing the same thing -and more- with that horrible girl, then pressed my face into my pillow.

"Leah," Embry breathed softly, propping himself up and touching my shoulder. "Leah, look at me."

I shook my head, letting my tears soak the pillow.

"Babe, you have to listen to me so we can make this right."

My shoulders shook with sobs as more images of him with that girl filled my mind. I showed him the images, and he flinched wildly.

"No, Leah, don't think like that," he begged, trying to make me look at him. "It's not like that at _all_."

"Then what is it like?" I choked, rolling over to glare up at him.

Embry touched my face, wiping some of my tears away. "Karma is a freak. She's a borderline stalker, and she was just trying to get a rise out of you."

"So she was lying?"

He got a pained expression. "Somewhat. Look, that 'night' she was talking about was nothing like she likes to delude herself into thinking."

I looked expectantly up at him. "Then what _was_ it like?"

"I was up visiting in June, a few weeks before everything went down between us, and she showed up in the middle of the night throwing rocks at my window. I came down and I thought she seemed weird, but she started crying about her boyfriend breaking up with her, spitting out all this crap about feeling worthless and stupid, so I hugged her. She kept crying, and I thought she was going to wake up the neighborhood screaming like that, so I kissed her," her said, making me flinch.

"This isn't making me feel any better," I said, more tears coming out. I was like a leaky faucet tonight.

Embry put a hand on my cheek, stroking my hair back. "She started making out with me, and I could taste the alcohol she'd had, and I realized she was drunk. I tried to push her away, but she kept crying, then she threw up all over the lawn and passed out. I didn't know what to do, so I took her inside and put her on my bed. I fell asleep in the desk chair, and when I woke up, she was gone. She's left a sticky note on my forehead with her number, a note thanking me for the 'wonderful' night, and a demand to call her, which I never did. That's all that happened, I _swear_."

I stared intently into his eyes. He had a sincere look, and I knew he was telling the truth. It still hurt, though. "And she just happened to call you while we were together?"

"Yes," he said insistently. "I never picked up and I never said I'd call. The last conversation I had with her was when she was wasted and insisting she's kill herself if I broke her heart, too."

I blinked away the last of my tears. "But why didn't you tell me?"

Embry thumbed away the last tears. "Because she wasn't important. She's just some girl. You're my beautiful soul mate. I only want you, and nothing's ever going to change that."

"It still would have been nice to know," I murmured through tear swollen lips. "You know, fair warning."

"I'm so sorry, Leah. For everything. Forgive me?"

I blinked slowly, then nodded. "Yes."

He smiled and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I love you. Kiss?"

I tilted my head up for a kiss. He kept it light and tender, and I appreciated that he was being so sincere and kind. While in my logical mind I knew that he couldn't and wouldn't cheat on me, I didn't like seeing his past. I also knew that he was a good sport about my relationship with his brother, and while I was angry at him, I wouldn't want that in return. "I love you, Embry. I'm sorry, too."

"For what?" he asked, tracing my jaw with his lips. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I shouldn't have acted like that. You're such a good sport about Sam, and I wasn't being fair."

Embry chuckled, kissing my lips again. "Do you want to see the point that I knew I had a crush on you?"

I nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I think so."

Suddenly, my mind was engulfed in a memory.

"_Leah, you have to calm down," Sam demanded as I paced around the front lawn of his house, where the pack had accumulated after the first phasing of my brother and I. _

"_Calm down?" I shrieked, bloody red in the face. "Calm down? You tell me the 'ancestors' made you fall in love with my cousin and break my heart and you tell me to _calm down_!" _

_Sam sighed. "Look, it's difficult. You know I still love you. You have to know. I just can't be with you. Emily is my other half, literally. No one can fight an imprint." _

_I turned around and shot daggers at him with my eyes. "I don't care how much you do or don't love me. I don't care anymore! I just want to know why you didn't just _tell_ me! Do you know how much easier my life would have been if I'd just known from the beginning?" _

"_I'm sorry, but I couldn't do that. I was scared and foolish, and then Old Quil swore me to secrecy." _

"_Well now I'm a genetic _freak_, too, and all you can say is _sorry_! If I didn't hate you before, I hate you now." _

"_You're causing a scene, Leah," Sam chided, as the pack snickered. "_Calm down_."_

_I spun on my heel and gave him the death glare of all death glare. "You stupid bastard, Samuel Uley, if you say one more thing to me I will ensure that you never have kids with your little 'imprint'." _

"_Stop screaming," Sam ordered, a rolling timber in his voice; an alpha order. "I'm sorry it had to be done like that, but I don't want you hurting anyone or yourself, Lee-lee." _

_At that, I stormed forward and slapped him across the face as hard as I possibly could, knocking him off balance and leaving a red handprint on his cheek. "Do that again. I dare you." My voice was low and dangerous. _

_Around the circle, the pack was murmuring the same thing. "She bitch slapped _Sam_!" _

The memory ended and I saw that Embry was restraining laughter.

"That was a long time ago," I said, a little smile on my lips.

"I know," Embry said, smiling at me. "At the point I knew you were over him, I started to like you. And you bitch slapping him helped."

I smiled, then leaned up for another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, pulling me into his arms and rolling us over so I was laying against him, then kissing me properly. "Tomorrow we'll run a different path."

"No more secret girls?"

"No more secret girls." He kissed my nose. "And no more fighting."

I nodded in agreement, then put my head on his chest. "Goodnight."

"Night."

We woke up the next morning rather late. We went downstairs in our pajamas, to the kitchen where his grandfather was making breakfast.

"Morning, kids," he said, not missing a beat as he perfectly sliced an apple into round slices.

Embry pulled out my chair for me, then sat next to me, holding my hand the whole time. He was making a statement of his manhood, I suppose, because his grandfather winked at him. We said our good mornings, then chatted lightly with Cassie, Zeke, and Daniella.

"So you two made up?" his grandmother asked, smiling an absent little smile, like her mind wasn't exactly on earth. I'd learned that tact was not her strong suit, so I didn't let it bother me.

"Yes, we did," Embry said, giving my hand a squeeze. "It was a misunderstanding."

"Well I'm glad," Daniella said, smiling wider. "I like this one, Embry."

"I think we all do," Cassie added, making me smile.

Embry was a Mama's Boy, and hearing out loud that she liked me made me feel better about being here with him. After breakfast, Embry and I went for a run again, to try again after yesterday's disaster. We didn't run into any secret girls, and he showed me a lot of haunts he loved as a kid. When we got back a little over an hour later, there was a van in the driveway, and he stopped me.

"Let me freak out my cousin," he whispered, then charged the van, where there was a slender girl leaning on the back, texting. He grabbed the girl and held tight, making her scream.

"Embry!" she whined, trying to wiggle free. "Ew, you're all sweaty and gross!"

I chuckled and walked the last bit up to them, where Embry was setting her on her feet.

"Why can't I give my cousin a hug?" he demanded, making a mock sad face.

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Why can't you be _normal_? Sometimes I wonder if you're really a human or some kind of evolved wild animal or alien or something."

"You're so mean," he whined, pouting.

She rolled her eyes, then her gaze shifted to me. "Who are you?"

Embry put a sweaty arm around my shoulder. "This is my girlfriend, Leah."

She made a disbelieving face, then snorted. "What's wrong with you?"

I burst into laughter, ducking out from under Embry's arm. "I'm trying to figure that one out myself."

He swatted at me, then grabbed my hand. "Leah, this is Isadora, but we all call her Izzie. She thinks she's _all that _because she's thirteen."

Izzie stuck her tongue out at him. "Everyone else is inside if you want to bug them."

Embry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Leah, I want you to meet the rest of my family."

He took my hand and pulled me into the house, where a few more people had accumulated. He introduced me to everyone, and introduced everyone to me. Daniella wasn't lying when she said their family were huggers. I was hugged by everyone, even Embry's two year old twin cousins. After I'd been accosted, I was let go to use the shower and change into something not sweaty and gross, and then continue with their 'family fun'.

Thanksgiving Day was a blur. We watched the entire Macy's parade early in the morning, ate until we thought we'd puke, then Embry, Cassie, and I made our way to La Push for dinner. At home, the entire pack was in our living room, eating, and Bella and Edward were there with Nessie. For once, I was thankful for my insatiable appetite, because I loved my mother's cooking. We all chatted and goofed off, entertaining Nessie and playing with her as well. When it came time for she and her parents to go home, she ran around the room hugging everybody, and kissing Jacob goodbye.

"Bye Grampa, bye Nana Sue," she said, hugging Charlie when he picked her up.

Soon, everyone was saying goodbye. Embry and I again had a silent agreement to stay at our respective homes. After the long few days, I fell into my own bed happily and only missing having Embry's warm body next to mine a little bit. I didn't even have time to form a coherent thought before I fell deeply asleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Everything's all better. Reviews, please! **

**~Sidney**


	6. Showers

**AGH! UPDATE! Who's happy? I'm happy. I sure am happy! I don't own anything recognizable, and please review, even if this is filler-ish.**

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><p>That weekend, Embry and I didn't have a lot to talk about. Spending the week together was something that hadn't happened in a long time, and after our argument, we'd had a lot of talking time. Instead, we drove to Port Angeles to see a movie, a rarity for us.<p>

Of course, with Embry, we didn't do a lot of seeing. The movie hadn't been playing for five minutes before Embry was leaning over me and kissing me. I tried to push him away, but he and I both knew that I'd give in, which I did eventually. We ended up making out for a while. It might seem obnoxious being 'that couple', the one's who love their PDA, but believe me, we weren't the only ones in that theater. It seemed like all of the boyfriends in the theater had the same idea Embry did: to bring their girl to a sappy romance to get her in the mood.

After that failure, we went and saw an action movie both of us could enjoy. Not that I enjoyed it, but Embry liked it, and when he was happy, I was happy. Afterwards, we ate at a little restaurant nearby. We stayed out late, but again, we stayed at our own homes.

The next weekend was Emily's baby shower. She looked like she was about to pop, but she still had nearly a month before her due date, and she was thrilled by the shower Rosalie and I threw. The living room of my house was decorated with pink streamers and balloons, and in attendance, other than the guest of honor, were Esme, Rosalie, Alice, Bella, and Nessie Cullen; Mom and Olivia Uley; Rachel and Kim; and Emily's sister Alyssa, with Claire. It was quite a party, and Emily adored all of the gifts we gave her.

She fawned over the onesies and toys, and she was happy with my choice in catering for the party. We all chatted happily, and it was really nice to have some girl time. Late in the afternoon, we all separated. Alyssa drove Emily and her gifts home, and Mom and I began to clean up.

The week after was slow. The hospital was boring. More children were checking out than checking in, and we didn't have as much to do. Embry said the only thing going on at the auto shop was the sales of snow tires, even though the only thing falling from the sky was steady rain. It felt like the world was slowing down. That is, until Friday night.

"Leah?" came Sam's voice over the phone. "Leah, you have to help me."

"What's wrong?" I demanded, my heart beginning to race. "What happened to Emily?"

"She's-she's crying and screaming and clutching her stomach," he said, sounding panicked.

I could rip his moronic head off. "She's going into labor, dumbass! I'll be there in a minute."

"Mom!" I called, running out of the kitchen. Mom had been relaxing in the living room all evening, and I hated to bother her, but she was the only one I could think of that would know what to do. "Mom, Emily's in labor."

She was on her feet in record time. "Let's go."

In minutes, we were at Sam and Emily's house. Mom knew how to deliver babies. She'd delivered several of the children on the reservation. Sam and I, however, were clueless, and Sam was ordered to hold her hand and other husband-y things, while I was ordered to leave and contact Olivia, Alyssa, and the pack. Olivia was there soon, and Alyssa said she'd be down later that night. The pack showed up nearly immediately, some from patrols, some from bed, and Jarred and Kim from a date. We all sat outside, waiting for something to happen, listening to Emily's screams and the directions of my mother.

After what felt like forever, Mom came to the door and said that Emily wanted me. I went inside and to the bedroom, where Emily was holding a tiny pink bundle, and Sam was on his knees next to the bed with tears in his eyes. Emily motioned me over and patted the space next to her. I sat down gingerly and peered down at the new baby.

"Leah," she whispered, smiling widely. "Meet Leah Olivia."

My jaw dropped and I took the baby when she was offered. "You named her after me?"

Emily nodded, smiling. "It fit perfectly. We're going to call her Via."

I held the tiny bundle and saw her yawn, which made me 'aw' like some sissy girl. "Wow. You _made_ this. This is so weird."

"Aunt Leah likes you," she whispered, touching the baby's tiny face. "Maybe Aunt Leah wants to get Uncle Embry so he can see you, too. That way you can meet both your godparents."

I got choked up, then passed the newborn back to my cousin. I gave her a one armed hug and a kiss on the cheek, unable to speak at the moment, then rushed out. The pack bombarded me with questions, but I fended them off and grabbed Embry's hand to pull him inside. I stepped back out to tell the pack the basics (name, health, size, sex), then went back inside. In the bedroom, Embry was holding the tiny bundle carefully, looking a little frightened, but smiling widely at his niece. When Alyssa finally got there, most everyone made their ways home. Since Alyssa had already had two children, Mom was okay with leaving her to help Emily and Sam with the baby. While Mom drove home, Embry and I walked instead.

"She's named after you," he said, smiling at me as we walked down the street.

I nodded, a goofy smile on my face. "It's so weird. I'm a godmother."

"I'm a god_father_," Embry said, suddenly reminded of it. "It's crazy. Do I have to stuff my cheeks with cotton balls and talk with a funny accent now?"

I chuckled, taking his hand and lacing my fingers through his. "Please don't. You were good with the baby."

He smiled bashfully. "I have little cousins. I know how to hold one."

I lifted our entwined hands and kissed the back of his. "I'm so happy for them."

"Me, too," he agreed, kissing my head.

After a while of silence, I said, "Let's go to my house. We haven't stayed together since Thanksgiving."

Embry squeezed my hand. "But Sue-"

"Has been asking when you're going to stay again. She thinks we had some kind of fight or something, and she says I get irritable when I go without seeing you."

He laughed, then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Okay. I'm glad. I thought I was going to go crazy if we went any longer apart."

Mom wasn't even a little bit surprised or irritated when I showed up with Embry in tow, claiming that we were tired and ready to go to bed. She just said her goodnights to us and then went to her own bedroom.

It would have been easy to have the baby talk again, but we didn't. Embry and I had discussed it from every angle and perspective. There was nothing left to talk about. Instead, we went bed. I went to sleep almost immediately. Maybe the slower world hadn't really been that slow. Maybe I'd just been tired. I didn't care. Embry's warm body holding mine made me feel serene, and I slept well.

Over the next week, the world was absolutely wet. Showers filled every minute of every day. Embry and I visited Via a few times, and we made lunch for Emily and Sam Saturday morning and brought it over. The baby was quiet, and she watched everything with her huge brown eyes from her propped up baby seat.

"We're lucky," Emily said, taking a sip of water. "She doesn't cry quite like Claire did."

"Claire had colic," I pointed out. "She couldn't help it. But Via _is_ really quiet."

Sam, who had deep circles under his eyes, made a weird sound. "She got her screaming out at two this morning."

Emily bit back a laugh and patted Sam's hand. "And he was a good daddy and took care of her so I wouldn't wake up."

"Because you're mean when you haven't had enough sleep," he muttered, making a face at his plate.

She burst into laughter, making the baby's eyes go to her. She leaned over kissed the baby's forehead, then went back to her food. After we finished eating, Emily fed the baby in another room while Embry and Sam talked in the living room and I cleaned up for her. By the time I was done cleaning, Emily was coming out of the nursery without the baby.

"She was falling asleep, so I put her in her crib," she said, waving the wireless baby monitor (courtesy of Mom). "Let's sit in here. The boys got quiet when I came through the living room, then got up and went outside."

I nodded in agreement, then sat down at the table. "So Sam's been good with her?"

Emily made a face. "Clueless is more like it."

"I'm lucky he chose you," I said, chuckling. "Though it's weird that I'm with his formerly unknown brother."

She laughed at that comment as well. "He tries. He really does. He can hold her right, and he can change a diaper, but that's about it. When she cries, he looks like he's going to cry, but he tries to calm her down in the middle of the night but all he does is just excite her and make it harder for her to go back to sleep; at bedtime I have to just take her away from him."

I silently thanked the ancestors that Sam and I hadn't worked out. "Well is she a Mommy's girl or a Daddy's girl?"

"Too early to tell. I'm better at calming her down by far, but she's a bit more expressive with him. She likes to watch him. She just sits there in her seat and watches him run around cleaning things up for me."

"Because what baby _wouldn't_ be fascinated by a gigantic man playing housewife?"

Emily laughed harder. "Claire was the same way when she was smaller. She still is, kind of, but she's more used to because of all her 'uncles' in the pack. Via's just getting to know everyone. The pack's been dropping by all week to see her."

"Nothing says welcome to the world like constant visits from huge men that have no idea how to hold you."

She couldn't stop laughing.

"That wasn't that funny, Emmy," I said, trying not to laugh myself. "How much sleep have you gotten on the last week?"

Her laughter suddenly turned into tears. "Not enough. I pretend to be okay for Sam, but I can't sleep, and he can't do anything so I have to take care of her all by myself."

I reached out to hug her, and she clung to me, sobbing. "Have you tried teaching him how to do things?"

"No, because he really tries, and he works hard for our money since he knows he's _useless_ with Via, and I can only do so much work from home."

"Try talking to him and telling him what he needs to learn. He does everything you tell him to anyway. Put it to good use, and catch up on some sleep. And look, if you ever need me to come over here and just sit with her while you take a nap, call me. I'm off on the weekends and I get off at four during the week. I'm only a phone call away, okay?"

She nodded, pulling back and wiping her face off. "I'm sorry I'm unloading on you. I just kind of snapped."

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. "That you did. Look, I'm serious. Even if you just want to talk, call me."

"Thank you, Lenny."

I gave her another hug, then we went to see if the boys were done with their private talk.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews, please! **

**~Sidney**


	7. Unexpected Gifts

**Update! This one is gonna be good, and you may or may not hate or love me. I don't own anything, and please review!**

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><p>Christmas was fast approaching. The hospital was alive with holiday spirit. The halls and rooms were decorated, and one of the stores in town donated several large Christmas trees for the patients. The children's ward had a tree to themselves, and one day we made it a game to decorate the tree all afternoon. The kids loved it, and it lightened their moods about being in a hospital. There were going to be several volunteers working over the holidays, so the full time workers, like myself, would be able to have off for the holidays. It was really touching, all the of the kindness going on in the holidays, for the patients and the workers. The last day before the workers would go on vacation (a few days before Christmas Eve), the entire ward had a Christmas party. The schools and churches had taken gift donations for the children, and the better off families had catered the party and held a raffle for monetary donations to the hospital, for the patients that weren't as well off.<p>

The children loved their gifts. The smaller ones or the ones who needed more attention were assigned nurses and assistants to help them out, and I was in charge of Liam. His diabetes (the reason he was in the hospital, after a severe -and almost deadly- complication) restricted him from some of the sweets the other kids got, but his family was one of the recipients of the monetary donations, and he got one of the bigger gifts, a little electric car that was just his size.

Jayne was up by the tree, handing out gifts. We'd gotten to the workers' gifts, which the children and other workers had voted on. "And this one is for…Leah!"

I carried Liam, who was half asleep, on my hip to get the small box, then returned to my seat to open it. "Oh, thank you all. That's so sweet." I smiled as I looked down at the watch. It was obviously picked out by the children, since Mickey Mouse's face _was_ the face, but it was a sweet gesture, and my old leather banded watch had bitten the dust long ago.

Around four, some of the holiday volunteers began to arrive, to take over for those leaving. After I'd convinced an almost-sleeping Liam that Angela Weber -the minister's daughter- would take care of him, I passed him off after a hug goodbye.

"Nurses and nurses' assistants, remember to stop by for your Christmas bonus from Dr. Cullen," Jayne called over the hustle of children being passed off.

After I hung my uniform, I grabbed my things and went down to the exit.

"Leah," Carlisle greeted I stepped off the elevator with a few others. "Kyle, Jordan. I have your bonuses right here."

He handed us each an envelope. I opened it as I walked away, then came back, talking quickly and under my breath so the humans wouldn't hear. "This is too much, Carlisle."

"Nonsense, everyone gets what they deserve," he replied, then wished a Merry Christmas to more workers as they passed and got their bonus envelopes. "And you deserve what you got."

"Carlisle, this is still too much."

When the waves of people subsided for a moment, he turned to me. "Leah, you are a part of my family at this point. Assuming you'll travel with us as has been mentioned in the past, you'll have to get used to be given what others feel you deserve. Everyone who's joined our family had the same doubts you do, but they got over it. Even your stepsister. And besides, this isn't from me. The board votes on it, and you've had several families mention your outstanding help with the children. Your gift from Esme and myself will be given to you at our Christmas party, assuming you're still willing to go."

"I was planning on it," I said uneasily.

"Wonderful. I have very few rules in my family, but an important one is that money is not important, so it's useless to argue when it's given to you, since money will be given to everyone at some point or another."

"Is that a threat?"

Carlisle smiled, humor in his expression. "I don't like the word 'threat'. I prefer 'condition', because one of the conditions of traveling with us is letting us help you financially."

I was burning red, mortified and suddenly aware that he was right. If I were to travel with the Cullens like I planned, I'd have to let them support me at some point or another. "I think I need to go home now."

"We'll see you and Embry at the party, won't we?" he asked, continuing to smile.

"Yes," I said, a defeated tone in my voice. "I'll see you then."

His smile was a close to a gloating smile I'd ever seen on him. While he was humble and kind, every man loved to know they were right, hundreds of years old or not.

Embry stopped by the bank on the way home to deposit his paycheck, and I deposited my bonus into a savings account where I'd been putting a part of my paycheck every week. I suppose I wouldn't have to worry about that anymore. With my bonus and whatever other outrageous gift the Cullens decided to give me, I'd be set for a while. Embry and I went to our respective homes for the night, because we'd be heading to Seattle the next morning for a few days, to finish our Christmas shopping and for Embry to pick up some school stuff. While the moms were weird about us spending two days away together, they couldn't exactly stop us. They trusted us -after about a million sex talks- but were still moms, and it our first trip alone as a serious couple. They wouldn't need to worry anyway. Embry was being extremely weird, and had been for a few weeks. I hadn't noticed it at first, but I began to pick up on little things. He was refraining from being wildly affectionate, in public or in private, and had been taking to only holding my hand in public. No kisses, no hugs, no cuddling. Hand holding. And in private, I'd had to take the lead in most of our kisses, and even then Embry was holding back. It was really starting to worry me.

Mom said not to worry about it when I mentioned it to her over dinner that night, saying he was probably just excited and distracted about Christmas, at which I reminded her he was a grown man.

"Leah, he may be in the body of a grown man, but all of those boys in the pack act about twelve," she said, giving me a significant look.

I rolled my eyes and finished eating, then the next morning we were off. We had fun shopping, goofing off and not really being serious about it. We were both extremely exhausted before the end of the day, what with the drive and the shopping, and Embry simply kicked off his shoes and removed his shirt and jacket before getting into bed. I, on the other hand, cared about how I smelled, so I showered and put on my pajamas before I got in. He was already asleep and snoring when I did. I curled up on my side, thinking he might get closer to me over the course of the night. He didn't. Not a bit. Instead, when I woke up the next morning, he was facing away from me, on the edge of the bed. Great, not only were we celibate (which was my choice, and that I didn't actually regret), we were also practicing abstinence from every form of physical affection, even having our arms touch while we were asleep. I wanted to smother myself with my pillow.

I tried not to let my irritation show the rest of the day, but in the car ride home I curled up in the corner of the passengers seat and stayed silent. I didn't have anything to say to him. He gave me a light kiss goodnight when he dropped me off at home and helped me carry my purchases in, but the kiss lasted approximately one second, and only added to my frustration.

Mom had made spaghetti for supper, and heated me up a plate when I got home. She sat with me in the kitchen, asking me about the weekend. "Was Embry still being 'weird'?"

I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. "It was even worse. He hasn't given me a real kiss in days, and last night he nearly fell of the bed trying to stay away from me."

Mom actually laughed at that one. "Maybe he's been trying to refrain from getting carried away."

"Mom, there was no 'getting carried away' in the first place. You know that. He's never been like this, and it's really driving me crazy."

"Well sweetie, he has his reasons," she said, rubbing my knee. "Let him be. It'll all work out."

I nodded in reluctant agreement. "Okay, okay. Whatever."

The next day was the Cullens' Christmas party. All of the Cullens were there, of course, and the entire pack with their respective imprints. Mom and Charlie went as well, and Billy, and Sam and Emily even brought Via. It was a huge affair. The exchange of gifts took a long time, though most of the gifts were given to couples rather than individuals. As expected, the Cullens gave me far too much, and I felt as though my gifts were inferior. The bonus I'd received was a fraction of what the Cullens gave me, but before I could say a word, both Carlisle and Edward gave me significant looks and I shut my mouth. The party was fun, and everyone fawned over Via. I gave my gifts to the pack and the Cullens, but I saved some gifts for Christmas day. The party went well into the night, with people leaving gradually.

Embry and I left together, for one last sleepover before Christmas. We talked a bit, about our gifts from the Cullens, about our plans for Christmas, and about our goddaughter. We ended up falling asleep sitting on separate ends of his couch. When I woke up, someone had put a blanket over me, and I saw that Embry had sat on the ground in front of me, leaning back on the couch, dead asleep. I leaned over and kissed his head, a tiny smile on my face. I leaned back and went back to sleep for a little while.

Christmas Eve was busy. Mom was cooking for most of the day, and Charlie did some last minute decorating. Billy had come over early, so when I got home the men were watching a game in the living room, out of Mom's way. I didn't have much to do, other than help clean up the house, then I was free.

Embry and I had a date planned for the night, so I got ready. Emily came over with Via and helped me get ready, and she was alive with holiday spirit. I assumed she's taken my advice with Sam, because she was ten times happier. She helped me decide what to wear, choosing the dress I was already thinking about. It was a dark green dress with thick shoulder straps with a square neckline and a ruched bodice, and it hit my knees. Emily, being in a Christmas-y mood, suggested red flats, but I denied her of her joy and instead wore the matching heels I'd bought for the dress in the first place, with ribbons that laced up on my ankles.

After putting my hair in hot rollers, I played with Via for a few minutes, tickling her cheeks with a clean makeup brush. Emily and I 'awed' when she gave a baby grin, sighing contentedly. She seemed to enjoy it, but I couldn't exactly tell, since a minute later she yawned and closed her eyes. After my hair was done, I put on my makeup, then got dressed. Emily nodded in approval, then gathered Via and left after wishing me good luck on my date. I hung out in my room for a little while, reading while I waited for Embry and Cassie (who'd be spending the evening helping Mom out) to get there.

"Embry's here!" Charlie called from the living room.

I got up from my bed and gave myself a once over in the mirror, then grabbed my clutch and my gift for him. I came into the living room where, once again, I was subjected to stares from all of the men present, and my mother and Cassie. "Wow, Leah's in a dress!" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "See you all later."

Embry took my hand and led me out to his car. He'd made early reservations at a nice little seafood place just outside of town, so we went and had a nice meal together. We talked and laughed together, and it was most normal he'd acted in a while. After we left, we went to the beach, where we parked at the playground then took a hiking trail to the top of our cliff, where he wanted to exchange gifts.

"Thank you, Leah," he said, smiling when he pulled out the cell phone box. "This is so cool."

"It's an unlimited prepaid. I already programmed it with all the necessary numbers and with your first month of service, and I put a few more prepaid code cards in the envelope," I said, smiling a little. "You didn't have one, and I got one for myself, too. Not that we need to call each other, really, but like around the people that don't know we can read each others' mind."

He kissed my cheek, then handed me my gift. "Open it."

After I tore away the paper, I found a folder. In the folder was a bunch of papers and receipts that I couldn't decipher. "What is it?"

"It's a lot of things," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's the deed to our land, all the necessary home permits, receipts for the services I put on hold, and the proof of down payment for the construction workers."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's for when we're ready to start a home together. I've put all of the services on hold, so we have plenty of time. They don't build until I say build, but… It's for our future." Embry smiled bashfully.

I gaped at him, a smile on my face. "How did you do all of this?"

He shrugged. "I had a lot of savings put away from work and gifts from my grandparents in the past. I also used my gift from the Cullens. I couldn't think of anything better."

I leaned over and kissed his lips gently. "Thank you. It's better than any gift I could've asked for."

"It was the best gift I thought of."

I smiled, then stood up, walking closer to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the water.

"Of course, if you fall, I may have to invest in padding for the inside of the house."

I laughed, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

I heard him stand up and walk up behind me, jokingly speaking as he came, "I don't know, marry me?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. You're so funny," I said, laughing still, we laughed together for a minute, then calmed down and were quiet for a moment.

"No," he said, his voice low and serious.

I turned around, worried, to see Embry down on one knee, an open ring box in his hands.

"Leah, will you marry me?"

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews? Don't kill be because of the cliffhanger. I just had to put it there. You may get an update later today or tonight, but I may not because I'm teaching music and dancing at VBS (Vacation Bible School for those of you who actually know what that is) and those little kids wear me out, no matter how adorable and precious they are. **

**~Sidney**


	8. Unbelievable

**I had to post it. I was mean for posting the cliffy, but I had to leave it like that for a little while. I don't own, and please review!**

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><p>"Embry…" I breathed, unable to make sense of the situation.<p>

Embry looked into my eyes. "Leah, I love you more than anything in the world. Please."

I fought for my breath, which had escaped the second I saw the ring. "Are you…"

"Crazy? Yes. Insane? _Yes._ Stupid? No," he said, his tone so completely serious I half thought it wasn't really Embry before me. "I know we have forever, but I can't wait that long to make you my wife."

"Yes," I finally said, my voice quivering. "Yes, I'll marry you. Yes…"

Embry took my left hand and slid the ring into place. Even the ring felt perfect. "Thank you." He kissed my hand, his eyes not leaving mine.

I fell to my knees, pressing my right hand to my mouth. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. To say I was happy would be an even bigger understatement. To say I was terrified would be the biggest understatement of them all. "I love you," I managed to croak before tears blurred my vision and Embry's arms surrounded me.

He kissed me deeply, deeper than he had in a long time. One hand held the back of my neck and another went to the small of my back to bring my closer, and my hands held his cheeks. I could feel his tears on my fingers, and my own mixed with them. We kissed for a long time, and when we held each other even longer. When we finally had the self control to part, we held hands as we went down the trail to his car. We were silent, drowning in our own happiness.

"I have to be honest," I finally said, after he sat in the driver's seat and closed his door. "I'm scared as hell."

Embry laughed, taking my hand and squeezing it. "Me too, beautiful."

I stared straight ahead and said the words that were causing me to be so amazed out loud. "We're engaged. We're getting married. Damn, this is so weird!"

He kissed my hand. "Yeah, we are, and it is. Are you happy?"

"Yeah," I said softly, looking over at him. "I am."

"Me, too."

I squeezed his hand. "I can't believe it."

"That we're engaged?"

"That we made it this far. I'm happy we did, though."

Embry leaned over and kissed my lips softly. "I love you, Leah."

I smiled, lifting our entwined hands to see the ring again, still amazed. "I love you, too, Embry."

Embry drove me home, and I stopped him before he got out of the car to open my door for me.

"Bry," I said, panic starting. "What about the moms and the guys and everyone? Do we tell them now or later? Do I need to take off the ring?"

"Leave the ring on, Lee," Embry said, chuckling and taking my hands. "You are probably the only person that didn't know I was proposing to you tonight. I've been freaking out over it for weeks, and this was a long time coming. I'm sorry if I've been weird the last few weeks, but it was because I was thinking about tonight constantly. I wanted it to be perfect."

"It _was_ perfect. Our cliff was perfect." And it was. _It's where it all began_.

He smiled, then nodded in agreement. _Exactly_. "Let's go."

"I don't know if I want to just yet," I said bashfully. "I want you to myself right now."

"Come on, babe," he said, leaning over and kissing my cheek. "We have to go at some point. Maybe we can convince them to let us stay together for the night."

"I doubt that," I murmured, pouting slightly. "They won't let us spend the night together anymore. They won't trust us."

He kissed my jutted out lip. "Lee, it's going to be fine. We're adults. We don't have to tell them right away if you don't want to. We can just hang out for a little while. But I don't want you taking off the ring."

"Wasn't planning on it," I said, giving a tiny (and somewhat forced) smile. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Embry got our of the car and opened my door for me, then held my left hand as we walked in. No one said anything, and no one had left. Jacob and Quil were actually over, adding to the numbers of people that may or may not have known about our pending engagement. I pulled my hand from Embry's and went to kick of my shoes before anyone could see or say anything (preferring my feet to not be killing me in addition to my nerves making me puke), then went back to the living room, arms crossed. Embry was sitting in one of the armchairs, and I sat on the arm, taking his hand.

_Ready, babe? _he thought, squeezing my hand.

_As I'll ever be._

He cleared his throat, and everyone's eyes snapped to us. Embry's hand slowly lifted mine, revealing the ring fully. "She said yes."

We were rushed, and my hand was held by too many others to count, each and every one belonging to someone inspecting the ring. We were hugged and kissed and hugged more. Even Charlie spared a hug and a handshake. Everyone asked too many questions, and finally I had to whistle loudly to make everyone shut up.

"We don't know!" I said, half laughing and half wanting to wrap my hands around someone's neck. "That's the answer to all of the questions for tonight. Okay?"

Embry, who had possession of my hand again, nodded in agreement, laughing as well. "Yeah, it's kind of new to us, too, you know."

"I'm sorry," Cassie gushed, a bright smile on her face. "I just thought you'd never actually do it!"

"Yeah, I thought you two would eventually move in together and just live in sin forever," Seth piped up, making Quil, Jacob, and even Embry laugh. Of course they'd all laugh. They're the ones that corrupted his once completely innocent mind.

I simply rolled my eyes, refusing to let that old conversation ruin my night. "Whatever. He asked, I said yes, let's move on."

Embry smiled and kissed my hand.

After everyone calmed down, I decided to change into something more comfortable. I took a shower, giving Embry some 'guy time' with Jacob and Quil, who wanted to talk to him in private. After my hair and face were thoroughly rid of product and makeup, I put on my pajama shorts and t-shirt, then went back to the living room to curl up in the armchair with Embry. He held my left hand in his and wrapped his right arm around me, holding me close. Around eleven-thirty, Jacob, Billy, and Quil all went home, and Cassie was yawning hugely. I myself was beginning to nod off in Embry's lap.

"I hate to end the night, but we might need to be heading home, baby boy," Cassie said softly, rubbing her the sleep out of her eyes. She looked over at us in the chair, then smiled lovingly. "You know, I think I'll give him up for the night."

"Please," my mother said, smiling at Cassie. "Stay here tonight. You were going to come over early tomorrow anyway."

"Oh, Sue, you're so sweet, but I have nothing to wear," Cassie replied, standing up and walking to my mother. "I'll just get them next Christmas."

Mom chuckled, then nodded in agreement. "We'll make a schedule. I'll see you in the morning."

The moms hugged, then Cassie came over to kiss Embry goodbye. She even dropped a small kiss to the top of my head before ruffling Embry's hair and giving him a one armed hug and congratulating us again. After she left, Embry realized I was nearly asleep in his arms, so he carried me to my room before changing in the bathroom. He crawled into bed with me, leaving my door wide open for some reason.

"Are you asleep?" Embry whispered, propping up on his arm to look down at me.

"Almost," I murmured, blinking up at him.

He smiled, then kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry."

I gave a little smile back. "It's fine."

"I just wanted say goodnight to my fiancée," he said, his smile growing when he referred to me as his fiancée. "Goodnight, fiancée."

"Goodnight, fiancé," I replied, smiling wider up at him. "Kiss?"

"Kiss." He leaned down and gave me a goodnight kiss, sweet and gentle, but still enough my send my heart racing. "I love you, Leah."

"I love you, Embry."

He settled back down next to me and found my left hand. He laced our fingers together before scooting closer to me, crossing our entwined hands over my stomach, pulling me as close to him as humanly possible. It was unreal, everything working out perfectly on this night. Like a fairy tale. Then again, it was Christmas Eve. Maybe Embry and I got an early Christmas miracle. We settled together in our happy bubble, out breaths and heartbeats in perfect synch. All I cared about in that moment was the fact that maybe I finally had a chance at forever. When Embry -thinking I was asleep- murmured his love for me once again, I knew that for once, the fates hadn't screwed me over. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

The next morning we woke up fairly late. Someone had closed my bedroom door, so we didn't bother getting out of bed. We talked softly, instead. We made plans, and changed them, and made then again. It was experimental, and it gave us a few intimate moments inside of our happy bubble.

"We can have a big back yard," Embry said in my ear, his lips brushing over my skin faintly. "And our kids can have plenty of room to run around and play. We can even get a balcony so we can watch them and still have our time."

"You sure are confident," I teased. "Not only are you sure I can have a baby, you now think I'll willingly have multiple."

He kissed my jaw. "Why not? We have forever."

I rolled my eyes and turned my head for a proper kiss. "Whatever. Why did you leave the door open last night?"

"Don't remember," he said, kissing my jaw again. "Something to do with proving something. The only thing I remember crystal clear about last night is that you agreed to marry me, and that I'd never felt so happy in my life."

I fought my girly urges to tear up at that. "Me either."

Embry smiled and kissed my mouth lightly, before beginning a trek down my jaw and neck, kissing all over and making me sigh in contentment. After a while of my silence, he looked up at me. "What are you thinking about so hard?"

It still amazed me that he could tell I was thinking deeply when I myself didn't realize it. "I was thinking that I want Seth to give me away. I always imagined my dad giving me away, but now he's gone, and Seth is all I have left of him."

He lifted a hand to my cheek to wipe away the stray tear that had escaped. "I think we should name our son after him."

"Now we're having a son?" I managed, choking back more tears as I tried to joke with Embry. "You're so… Ugh, I don't know what you are. No, you're damn confident is what you are."

"Leah, stop being so resilient. It's okay to be sad. You were a Daddy's Girl, and I know that, so if you're upset that he won't be at our wedding, be upset. I know I am," he said softly, tracing my lips with his thumb. "Harry was a good man, and it's wrong that he had to die, but just because he's gone doesn't mean you can't talk about him."

"I don't like to talk about things that make me sad."

"Yet you used to upset everyone else," he said, then realized that he said it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

I shrugged, kissing the tip of his thumb as it made another revolution around my lips. "It's okay. I know what you mean. I just handle things differently. You know that."

He nodded in agreement. "Just don't be so hesitant to be transparent, especially with me. Back to our conversation, if we were to have a son, I'd want to name him after your father. I think names should mean something, and my father was a no good son-of-a-bitch, but your father was a genuinely good person."

"You sound like a soap opera," I said, cracking the tiniest of smiles. "But you're right. Thank you, and I'm sorry for being… What's the opposite of transparent?"

"Opaque?" he suggested, making us both laugh. "But it's okay. Back to what started this whole thing, you would want Seth to walk you down the aisle? That means you want a real wedding?"

I nodded, smiling at him. "We should do it right. Friends and family, a bridal party and groom's men. Monkey suits and ugly bride's maids dresses. The works. What do you think?"

"I think tomorrow we'll start planning our big white wedding."

I giggled, reaching my arms up to him, pulling him to me. "I love you, Embry."

He smiled hugely, kissing my mouth. "I love you, more."

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews, please, and check out my blog if you can! **

**~Sidney**


	9. Plans

**Last chapter of Loving! The next installment will be published sometime tomorrow or Monday. I also want to give you a little quiz before you read on, and answer in your review. What are the two things identical in every installment of The Only Exception series? I just want to know if anyone notices my OCD-ness. I don't own anything recognizable, and please review!**

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><p>After a little while, someone knocked on the door.<p>

"Come in," I called, pulling myself from Embry's arms and sitting up, which made him pout.

Mom opened the door, smiling a bit. "Good morning, and Merry Christmas."

I smiled back at her. "Morning, Mom."

"Merry Christmas," Embry supplied, hauling himself up.

"I was just seeing if you two were up yet. We closed your door when Cassie got here so we wouldn't wake you," she said, leaning on the doorframe. "And Embry, we all got your point last night."

I raised an eyebrow, looking from her to Embry, who had a look of recollection on his face. "Oh, yeah… That's why I left the door open."

"Why?" I asked, laughing at his silliness.

Mom came into the room and sat at the end of the bed. "Seth made a comment to Embry last night that was dripping with innuendo, so Embry left your bedroom door wide open so anyone who wished could see that you two were only sleeping."

I rolled my eyes. "What did Sethy say?"

She bit her lip, trying not to smile. "I'll let the boys tell you later. Get up and get dressed so we can have lunch and open presents."

I kicked my covers off and stood up, leaning over to shake out my hair before pulling it into a messy bun. It was getting long, but I didn't mind it much. I'd gotten used to running with a lot of fur, and it felt kind of nice once I got past the twigs and dirt. I pushed Embry -who'd got up and stretched- out the door, then closed it to change after Mom left. After slipping into a pair of jeans and a green and red striped long sleeved shirt, I opened the door to leave, leaving a semi-irritated Embry to go into my room to grab something to change into, which made me realize how much of his stuff was actually in my room.

I went to the living room, where Seth and Charlie were sitting with Cassie, then went to the door when it rang, right before I sat down. After I let Edward, Bella, and Renesmee in, Embry came out of my room and swatted at me as I slipped past him into the kitchen to see if Mom needed any help. After she kicked me out, insisting the only thing left to do was get down the plates and take a few things out of the oven, I went to living room and sat next to Embry on the couch, since Seth had the chair we'd occupied the night before, and because it probably wasn't that good an idea to attempt eating Christmas lunch around each other.

"Merry Christmas, Aunt Leah," Nessie said, smiling from her seat on Charlie's lap.

"Merry Christmas, Nessie," I replied, smiling back at her.

I glanced at Embry -who was smiling- and then around the room, my eyes landing on my left hand. I leaned my head on Embry's shoulder, slipping a hand into his. He gave my hand a squeeze.

Edward leaned over to whisper something in Bella's ear, and her eyes snapped to my left hand. They looked at each other knowingly, then both smiled in my direction. Nessie, who was watching the exchange, looked from her parents to Embry and I, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to my hand, where my ring sat proudly, sparkling ostentatiously.

Embry glanced over at me, holding back a laugh. _Shall we? _

_The mind reader knows, and now so does my stepsister. _I thought back, giving a mental eye roll.

Edward chuckled. "Yes, we know."

"I want to know!" Nessie said, looking haughtily at her parents. "What do you know?"

Charlie smiled affectionately at his curious granddaughter, then let her down when she started wiggling.

"Please, I love to know new things. I'm really good at keeping secrets, too. Please, tell me what you know." It was adorable, her eagerness.

I could only imagine that got messy when her oaf of an uncle used sexual innuendo around her. Edward caught my eye across the room and made a face, answering my question with an obvious 'hell yes', and he chuckled when he heard my thought, then leaned over to whisper it to Bella again, who chuckled as well.

"Renesmee, maybe you should ask Aunt Leah and Uncle Embry," Bella said gently to her bouncing baby.

The baby ran over to us, then stared intently, waiting for an explanation. Embry held out his hands to her, and she eagerly jumped into his arms, sitting on his lap patiently. He then took my left hand and held it up so she could see it. "I gave this to Aunt Leah."

She tilted her head, studying the ring intently. "What is it? What does it mean?"

I smiled as Embry finished explaining it to her. "It's an engagement ring. It means that we're going to get married."

Nessie smiling brilliantly, jumping off of his lap and skipping around the room, singing at the top of her lungs. "There's going to be a wedding! There's going to be a wedding!"

I leaned back to watch the spectacle, unable to refrain from laughing. After she felt she'd gotten her point across, she ran back to us to give us hugs. "I'm so happy for you! You get to have a wedding! I wish I could have a wedding, but Daddy says I can't do that until hell freezes over."

"Renesmee!" Bella said, shooting her husband a glare. "We do not say things like that. And Daddy shouldn't say things like that, either."

"Sorry, Momma," she said, making an 'oops' face. "I forgot I wasn't supposed to tell you he said that. Sorry Daddy."

Edward leaned back, smiling sheepishly at his wife. "Congratulations, you two."

"Yes, congratulations," Bella added, giving us a brief smile before glaring at her husband again.

The baby went back to Charlie, who was red with restrained laughter, and crawled back into his lap. Cassie, who'd been watching the entire show, was laughing at the ordeal. She was handling the entire magical world especially well, and thought Nessie was adorable. I almost suspected her of being a mysterious, supposedly mythical, creature, and showed Embry that. He simply laughed and shook his head, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

Finally, we all ate lunch, talking and laughing and joking around. Presents were fun, and we all enjoyed watching Nessie play with her new toys, choosing to allow her to open first. Mom and Cassie kept exchanging suspicious glances, then began passing out the 'adults'' gifts.

"This is a gift for the both of you. You can figure out who it's from," Mom said, handing a large, flat box to Embry and I.

We worked together to tear the shiny silver paper off of it, then gaped at the portrait. It was a painting of Embry and I, standing together with his arms around me. It looked like an amalgamation of several pictures of us, but it was unique, and very beautiful. I looked at the bottom right hand corner, to see my brother's signature.

"Seth?" I said unbelievingly, looking up at him. "_You_ did this?"

He shrugged, giving a smile. "Yeah. It was my final for art class. The teacher loved it."

I rested it against the couch and attacked my brother with a huge hug, kissing his cheek and squeezing him hard. "Thank you, Sethy."

Seth, the happiest guy in the world, couldn't fake being mad like he always did when Embry and I were being overly affectionate, and his smile lit the room up. "Consider it your first decoration for your house when you guys get married."

"I love you, Sethy," I said, giving him one more tight squeeze and another kiss.

"Love you, too, Lee," he said, hugging me back.

Embry stood and he and Seth shared a 'man hug'. "Thanks, bro."

Seth smiled. "Welcome."

No gift topped my brother's. It was unreal, how truly amazing the portrait was, and I loved it so much that I couldn't feel jealous that he got the artistic genes. Embry and I got several other joint-gifts for our house or for us to share. A photograph here, a trinket there. Finally, I had to ask.

"Was I really the only one that didn't know he was proposing?"

Everyone looked around, shrugged, or simply said a collective, 'Yes' or 'Pretty much'.

"And what were you going to give us if I said 'no'?"

"We knew you'd say 'yes'," Mom said with a roll of her eyes.

I accepted that as an answer, not really arguing. At this point, I'd have run to Vegas to elope if he'd asked. He was right when he said that while we had forever, we couldn't wait for forever to start. After everyone opened their gifts and we had 'family time', we all split off.

Embry and I went on a walk around La Push. We ended up in the little cemetery where my father was buried. I hadn't visited his grave in a long time, and I was surprised to see a bouquet of peace lilies. I sat down in front of his headstone, running my left hand over his name. I couldn't help but tear up. Embry stepped back several feet, giving me a moment.

"Hi, Daddy," I said softly, feeling foolish for talking to a headstone. "It's Leah. It's Christmas, and I wanted to see you, but this was as close as I could get. I've really missed you, especially in these last few months." I wiped a tear away, trying to keep my composure. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm getting married. To Embry Call. He's my imprint, and I'm his. We've really fallen in love, and I know that I'm only nineteen, but I'll always be nineteen, and we want to start our life together." My voice was breaking. "I really miss you, Daddy, and I love you." At that point, I fell apart, being completely transparent, just like Embry said I could.

Embry was next to me in an instant, his arms surrounding me. He held me tightly, letting me cry. "It's okay, beautiful. I love you."

After a while, he helped me to my feet and wiped my face off with his sleeve. I gave him a watery smile before turning back to kiss the top of my father's headstone. "By, Daddy."

We walked hand in hand out of the cemetery, and a wave of calm washed over me. I expressed this to Embry in my mind, and he gave my hand a squeeze, silently agreeing. We walked around for a while, then he led me along in a different direction than we'd even been. We walked for a long time, even ran for some of it, in human form, and finally, we came to a large plateau on the side of a mountain, where the view was spectacular, and the only way to get up to it was by a hiking trail, or by the small dirt road.

"Welcome to our home," Embry said softly, giving a dramatic sweep of his arm. "We can live here forever without anyone bothering us. We can catch up with the Cullens whenever we like, but we'll always have our home here to come back to."

I stared in awe at the land, taking in the grassy area and the spectacular view. "This is my present?"

He nodded, smiling at me shyly. "Do you like it?"

I slipped my arms around his waist, hugging him with my head on his chest. "I love it. I love you."

His lips found my hair, and he hugged me back. "Let's go back before it gets dark. We can come back whenever you like. Hell, let's camp out here sometime soon."

"Thank you, Embry," I said, smiling up at him. "This is amazing."

He blushed a little. "It's for you."

We got back to my house later that night, where Mom and Cassie were talking and looking through old photo albums. They acknowledged us when we came into the kitchen to get something to eat. We ate at the counter, then went to the living room. Before I slipped out behind Embry, Mom caught me and pointed to a picture.

"Leah, would you like the wedding dress I wore when your father and I got married?" she asked, showing me the picture.

I was amazed by how much I looked like her. I'd seen the pictures before, but I never thought about it until now. She was beautiful, and she looked amazingly happy in the wedding photograph with my father, young and handsome. "Oh, Mom…"

"Think about it. I think it would be nice for you to take some photographs in it, and maybe have your own for the ceremony," she said thoughtfully. "Just think about it."

I nodded, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "I think photographs would be nice. I'll definitely think about it."

She smiled brightly, then turned back to the album. I went to the living room to sit on the couch with Embry, and after while, we went to the Call's home with Cassie, since it was her 'turn' to have us.

Embry and I laid in his bed, talking about nothing in particular. I brought up the idea my mother had, about her dress. He was surprisingly excited about the idea of doing photos with my mother's dress. I didn't quite understand it.

"You know what that means?" he asked, smiling widely.

"What?" I asked, half laughing at his excitement.

"We've made our very first wedding plan," he said, smiling proudly.

I kissed him on the mouth, then smiled back at him. "You're crazy, but I love you."

Embry leaned in for another kiss. "I love you, too."

Christmas was coming to an end, but for Embry and I, life was just getting started.

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><p><strong>AN: Review, please, and don't forget the little quiz, if you don't mind. The next installment - not yet named, sorry! - will be posted soon. **

**~Sidney **


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